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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

THE MOST CORRECT

One of my students asked me the following question one day:

“Brother Whitmer, why did Joseph Smith say
the Book of Mormon is a perfect book? Haven’t
there been lots of changes in the book to fix errors? And if it isn't a perfect book, how can we
believe it is true?”

The Gold Plates of Mormon

My answer went something like this:

Joseph
did not state that the Book of Mormon was a perfect book. What he DID say was:

“I told the brethren that the Book
of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our
religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by
any other book.” (Introduction to the Book
of Mormon, Paragraph 6)

Being the
‘most correct’ book does not indicate that it is perfect – in fact, the prophet
himself is leaving room for error. But not
error in doctrine or revelation from God – he was leaving the door open to
account for the challenges mortal man has in recording the words and
revelations of God.

The First Vision

The writers
of all scripture are mortal men and have biases, fears, shortcomings and
attitudes that affect the way they see and record the revelations they
receive. They
are not perfect men!! But they listen and record, as best they can, the
things they witness concerning God and Christ and their kingdom.

The Book
of Mormon is the “most correct” book because it has had only one translation
and the translator was called of God to perform that work. Yes, there
were errors in some of the transcribing by scribes and when it went to the
printers. There were also some words
that were misunderstood and had to be corrected after the printing. But the doctrine and principles of truth that
are available to mankind in the Book of Mormon are simple, clear and completely focused on the role of the Savior Jesus Christ
in the redemption of man.

Our only source of Salvation

Any
person who studies the words of the prophets contained in the Book of Mormon
will better understand the role of Jesus Christ in the Father’s Plan of Salvation
– the vital role that provides a way to overcome all the challenges of
mortality -- sin, death, sickness, physical ailments, mental struggles, and all
else that comes to mortal men and women (see Alma 7:11-13).

That was the gist of my answer to
that student. Now I add something for
those who may read this posting.

For 183 years there have been
doubters and naysayers all over the world who have declared that Joseph was a
fraud or false prophet and that the Book of Mormon was the invention of
deceitful men.

Yet, millions who have
read the Book of Mormon have come away with a greater appreciation for the Lord
and Savior of this world. Jesus Christ
is the focus of all Joseph taught and Jesus is the leader and center of the
religion Joseph founded. We honor the
prophet for that, but we worship the Savior.
Any who think otherwise do not understand the Latter-day Saints.